Image capture apparatus and control method

ABSTRACT

An image capture apparatus capable of charging a battery. The image capture apparatus includes a connection unit that receives power from a power supply device, a charging control unit that charges the battery by using power received from the power supply device, a power supply control unit that supplies power to components of the image capture apparatus by using power received from the power supply device, and a control unit that controls charging of the battery and power supply to the components of the image capture apparatus by using power received from the power supply device, according to whether or not an operating mode of the image capture apparatus is restricted due to heat from the battery.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/180,315,filed Nov. 5, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to an image capture apparatuscapable of charging a battery, a control method, a program, or the like.

Description of the Related Art

If an internal battery of an electronic device such as an image captureapparatus is charged, the heat produced by the electronic device mayincrease due to the effects of the heat generated by charging thebattery. In an image capture apparatus such as a digital camera,operation restrictions are provided according to temperature due toconcerns regarding image degradation from rising temperature, thetemperature exceeding the scope of guaranteed operation, or thetemperature exceeding the scope of safe operation. For example, in amoving image shooting mode, the operation restrictions placed due torising temperatures affect the moving image recording duration, and themoving image recording duration is shortened due to the rapid rise ofthe internal temperature of the apparatus interior caused by heatgenerated by charging the battery inside the apparatus.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-121293 discloses a method ofperforming communication for the purpose of changing control related towireless power supply in a case of a predetermined operating mode.Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-502067 discloses a method ofperforming control to switch to a heat generation restricting mode andlower the charge current, the video frame rate, and the resolution ifthe temperature of heat generated in a mobile terminal device is greaterthan or equal to a predetermined temperature.

However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2013-121293, wireless power supply stops during a moving image shootingmode. For this reason, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-OpenNo. 2013-121293 cannot perform control such that battery charging stopsbut the power supply to an electronic device is maintained. Also, in themethod disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-502067, if thetemperature is greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature,battery charging control can be changed by performing a charging controlthat lowers the charge current but power supply cannot be maintained toan electronic device.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the embodiments, an apparatus, a method, aprogram, or the like is provided that avoids restricting a predeterminedoperating mode by heat from a battery.

According to an aspect of the embodiments, there is provided an imagecapture apparatus capable of charging a battery, comprising: aconnection unit that receives power from a power supply device; acharging control unit that charges the battery by using power receivedfrom the power supply device; a power supply control unit that suppliespower to components of the image capture apparatus by using powerreceived from the power supply device; and a control unit that controlscharging of the battery and power supply to the components of the imagecapture apparatus by using power received from the power supply device,according to whether or not an operating mode of the image captureapparatus is restricted due to heat from the battery.

According to an aspect of the embodiments, there is provided a method ofcontrolling an image capture apparatus capable of charging a battery,the method comprising: receiving power from a power supply device; andcontrolling charging of a battery and power supply to components of theimage capture apparatus by using power received from the power supplydevice, according to whether or not an operating mode of the imagecapture apparatus is restricted due to heat from the battery.

According to an aspect of the embodiments, there is provided anon-transitory storage medium that stores a program causing a computerto a method of controlling an image capture apparatus capable ofcharging of a battery, the method comprising: receiving power from apower supply device; and controlling charging of a battery and powersupply to components of the image capture apparatus by using powerreceived from the power supply device, according to whether or not anoperating mode of the image capture apparatus is restricted due to heatfrom the battery.

Further aspects of the embodiments will become apparent from thefollowing embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an external view of an imagecapture apparatus 100 in a first embodiment and other embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for illustrating components of the imagecapture apparatus 100 in the first embodiment and other embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for illustrating a method of controlling chargingof a battery in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for illustrating a method of controlling chargingof a battery in a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between typesand power supply capabilities of the power supply devices.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for illustrating a method of controlling chargingof a battery in a third embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are flowcharts for illustrating a method of controllingcharging of a battery in a fourth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the disclosure will bedescribed below with reference to the drawings. However, aspects of thedisclosure are not limited to the following embodiments.

Apparatus Configuration

The apparatus configuration will first be described in regards to anexternal view and a configuration of the image capture apparatus 100 inthe following embodiments, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external view of the image captureapparatus 100 in the following embodiments.

The image capture apparatus 100 is not limited to a digital camera, andmay be a mobile phone with a camera function (a smartphone, forexample), a mobile terminal (a tablet terminal, for example), or becapable of operating as at least one of those.

A display unit 101 is constituted by a liquid crystal panel (LCD) thatdisplays images and various information. A shutter switch 102, a modeselection switch 103, and an operation unit 104 are an operation memberfor the purpose of receiving user operations and inputting variousoperation instructions to a system control unit 208. The shutter switch102 gives an image shooting instruction. The mode selection switch 103switches the operating mode of the image capture apparatus 100.

A battery 105 is a battery that is capable of being charged, such as alithium ion battery, and is capable of being attached to and detachedfrom the image capture apparatus 100. The battery 105 is a power sourceunit that supplies power to components of the image capture apparatus100. Also, the battery 105 is capable of being charged by using powersupplied from a power supply device 110 that is connected via aconnector 108 and a cable 109. A battery slot 106 is a slot for storingthe battery 105. A cover 107 is the cover of the battery slot 106. FIG.1 shows a state in which the cover 107 is open and a part of the battery105 is removed from the battery slot 106 and is exposed. The connector108 is an interface that connects the cable 109 and the image captureapparatus 100.

The connector 108 and the cable 109 are, for example, a Type-A, Type-Bor Type-C connector (hereafter referred to as USB connectors) and acable (hereafter referred to as a USB cable) that conform to universalserial bus (USB) standards. The power supply device 110 is capable ofsupplying power to a device that is connected via the USB connector 108and the USB cable 109, for example. The power supply device 110 is, forexample, a personal computer (PC), or a portable battery. When the powersupply device 110 is connected to the image capture apparatus 100 viathe USB connector 108 and the USB cable 109, the power supply device 110(the source) and the image capture apparatus 100 (the sink) communicatewith each other to mutually determine their roles, the amount of powerto be supplied to the image capture apparatus 100, or the like. Theimage capture apparatus 100 is capable of using power supplied by thepower supply device 110 to supply power to components of the imagecapture apparatus 100 and to charge the battery 105. Note that theconnection between the image capture apparatus 100 and the power supplydevice 110 is not limited to USB, and a variety of interface systemswhich are capable of communicating data and supplying power can beapplied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the image captureapparatus 100 in the following embodiments.

An image capture unit 201 is an image capture element configured by aCCD, a CMOS, or the like, that converts an optical image of an objectthat is formed through an optical system (not shown) into an electricalsignal. An A/D conversion unit 202 converts an analog signal to adigital signal. The A/D conversion unit 202 is used for the purpose ofconverting an analog signal, which is output from the image capture unit201, into a digital signal.

An image processing unit 203 performs predetermined pixel interpolation,resize process referred to as downsizing, and color conversion processon the data from the A/D conversion unit 202, and also on the data froma memory control unit 204. Also, in the image processing unit 203,captured image data is used to perform a predetermined computationprocess, and the system control unit 208 performs exposure control andfocus control based on the obtained computation results. Thus, TTL(Through the Lens) system AF (Automatic Focus) process, AE (AutomaticExposure) process, and EF (Flash pre-emission) process are performed.Furthermore, in the image processing unit 203, predetermined computationprocess is performed using captured image data, and TTL system AWB(Automatic White Balance) process is performed based on the obtainedcomputation results. The image processing unit 203 performs image recordprocess and moving image recording process in which image data (a stillor a moving image) which was generated by the image capture unit 201 iscompressed and encoded into a predetermined format (JPEG or H.264, forexample), and an image file is generated.

The memory control unit 204 controls the reading and writing of datafrom and to a memory 205 and an external memory 206. Data output fromthe A/D conversion unit 202 is directly written to the memory 205 viathe image processing unit 203 and the memory control unit 204, or viathe memory control unit 204.

The memory 205 stores image data obtained by the image capture unit 201and converted into digital data by the A/D conversion unit 202, andstores image data for the purpose of being displayed on the display unit101. The memory 205 is provided with enough storage capacity to store apredetermined number of still images, as well as a predeterminedduration of moving images and audio.

The external memory 206 is a recording medium such as a memory card forthe purpose of recording image files in a predetermined format, and isconfigured from a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.The external memory 206 is capable of being attached to and detachedfrom the image capture apparatus 100.

Anon-volatile memory 207 is a memory capable of electrical recording anddeletion, and an EEPROM, for example, is used. Constants, programs, orthe like that are used in the operation of the system control unit 208are stored in the non-volatile memory 207. The program mentioned hererefers to a program for the purpose of executing various flowcharts thatwill be described later in the following embodiments.

The system control unit 208 performs overall control the image captureapparatus 100. The system control unit 208 realizes the processes of theflowcharts of the following embodiments, which will be described later,by executing a program stored in the non-volatile memory 207. Referencenumeral 209 is a system memory, and a RAM is used. Constants, variables,programs read from the non-volatile memory 207, or the like used in theoperation of the system control unit 208 are deployed to the systemmemory 209. Also, the system control unit 208 performs display controlby controlling the memory control unit 204, the memory 205, the displayunit 101, or the like.

A connection detection unit 210 detects the state of the USB cable 109and the power supply device 110 being connected to the USB connector108.

A charging/discharging control unit 211 controls either charging of thebattery 105 or supplying power to a power source control unit 212,according to the connection state of the power supply device 110detected by the connection detection unit 210 and/or the operating modeof the system control unit 208.

The power source control unit 212 has a battery detection circuit and aDC-DC converter, and detects the presence/absence of a mounted battery,the type of the battery and the remaining amount of the battery. Also,the power source control unit 212 controls the DC-DC converter,generates necessary voltage from power that is output from the battery105 or the charging/discharging control unit 211, and controls powersupplied to components of the image capture apparatus 100, including theexternal memory 206.

A temperature detection unit 213 detects a temperature T of a specificportion of the image capture apparatus 100. The specific portion is, forexample, the operation unit 104 or its peripheral portions that arecapable of being touched by a user. Note that the specific portion isnot limited to the operation unit 104 or a peripheral portion thereof,and may be the battery 105 inside the image capture apparatus 100 or aperipheral portion thereof, a CPU, a MPU, or another processor, or aperipheral portion thereof, which is prone to the effects of heatgenerated by the battery 105.

An operating mode determining unit 214 determines the operating mode ofthe system control unit 208. The operating mode includes a still imageshooting mode, a moving image shooting mode and a preproduction mode.

A connection destination determining unit 215 determines the type, thepower supply capability, and so on, of the power supply device 110 thatis connected via the USB connector 108 and the USB cable 109. Thedetermination of the connection destination device is performed usinginformation acquired from communication with the power supply device110, but this is not limited to any specific method.

A condition setting unit 216 sets the recording conditions (imagequality (resolution) and frame rate, for example) in the moving imagerecording process.

The mode selection switch 103 switches the operating mode of the systemcontrol unit 208 to either the still image shooting mode, the movingimage shooting mode, the preproduction mode, or the like. The stillimage shooting mode includes such modes as an automatic mode, anautomatic scene determining mode, a manual mode, various scene modeswhich are scene-specific image shooting settings, a program AE mode, anda custom mode. The mode selection switch 103 can be used to switchdirectly between any of these modes. Alternatively, after temporarilyswitching to the still image shooting mode with the mode selectionswitch 103, another operational member may be used to switch to any ofthese modes included in the still image shooting mode. In the samemanner, the moving image shooting mode may also include a plurality ofmodes.

A first shutter switch 102 a generates a first shutter switch signal SW1when the shutter switch 102 provided in the image capture apparatus 100is operated partway, that is to say, is ON with a half-press (imageshooting preparation instruction). The first shutter switch signal SW1starts image shooting preparation process such as AF process, AEprocess, AWB process, and EF process.

A second shutter switch 102 b generates a second shutter switch signalSW2 when the operation of the shutter switch 102 is fully operated, thatis to say, is ON with a full-press (image shooting instruction). Thesystem control unit 208 starts a series of image shooting processes inaccordance with the second shutter switch signal SW2, from the readingof a signal from the image capture unit 201 to the writing of image datato the external memory 206.

By selecting the types of function icons that are displayed on thedisplay unit 101, the operation members of the operation unit 104 areassigned functions appropriate to the scene and are used as buttons foreach function. The function buttons include, for example, an end button,a return button, an image forward button, a jump button, a refinebutton, a change attribute button, a preproduction button, or the like.For example, a menu screen capable of performing various settings isdisplayed on the display unit 101 when a menu button is pushed. The usercan intuitively perform various settings using the menu screen displayedon the display unit 101 with up, down, left and right four directionalbuttons and a SET button. Also, the preproduction mode can be switchedto when the preproduction button is pressed.

First Embodiment

The first embodiment below describes the method of controlling chargingof the battery 105 in the first embodiment using FIG. 3, in addition toFIGS. 1 and 2.

The first embodiment describes an example of a method of controllingcharging of the battery 105 with use of power received from the powersupply device 110 that is USB connected via the USB connector 108 andthe USB cable, based on whether or not the operating mode of the systemcontrol unit 208 is the moving image shooting mode.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for the purpose of illustrating the method ofcontrolling charging of the battery 105 in the first embodiment.

Note that the process in the flowchart in FIG. 3 is realized by aprogram stored in the non-volatile memory 207 being read out to thesystem memory 209 and being executed by the system control unit 208. Thesystem control unit 208 starts the process upon detecting that the powersupply device 110 is connected to the image capture apparatus 100.

In step S301, the system control unit 208 detects that the power supplydevice 110 is connected with use of the connection detection unit 210and proceeds to step S302.

In step S302, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theimage capture apparatus 100 is in a power-on state. The procedureproceeds to step S303 if it is determined that the image captureapparatus 100 is in the power-on state, or proceeds to step S305 if itis determined that the image capture apparatus 100 is not in thepower-on state.

In step S303, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theoperating mode of the system control unit 208 is the moving imageshooting mode. The procedure proceeds to step S304 if it is determinedthat the operating mode is the moving image shooting mode, or proceedsto step S305 if it is determined that the operating mode is the movingimage shooting mode.

In step S304, the system control unit 208 controls thecharging/discharging control unit 211 and the power source control unit212 such that necessary power is supplied to components of the imagecapture apparatus 100, without charging the battery 105, by using powerreceived from the power supply device 110 (first control). Note that thepower supply need not be performed if it is unnecessary. Through suchcontrol, it is possible to suppress an operation restriction caused byheat generated from charging the battery 105 in the moving imageshooting mode and the shortening of the moving image recording durationcan be suppressed.

In step S305, the system control unit 208 controls thecharging/discharging control unit 211 and the power source control unit212 such that the battery 105 is charged and necessary power is suppliedto components of the image capture apparatus 100 by using power receivedfrom the power supply device 110 (second control). Note that chargingmay be performed without supplying power if power received from thepower supply device 110 is insufficient for power supply other thancharging, or if power supply is unnecessary. In a case in which theoperating mode is not the moving image shooting mode, charging of thebattery 105 and supplying power to the system can be performed at thesame time because there is no effect from heat generated by charging thebattery 105.

Note that in step S304, charging of the battery 105 is not performed,but in step S404 of FIG. 4, which will be described later, the chargingof the battery 105 may be conditionally permitted.

According to the first embodiment, charging of the battery 105, whichuses power received from the USB connected power supply device 110, iscontrolled based on whether or not the operating mode of the systemcontrol unit 208 is the moving image shooting mode. Accordingly, theimage capture apparatus 100 being subject to operation restrictioncaused by heat generated from charging the battery 105 in the movingimage shooting mode and the shortening of the moving image recordingduration can be suppressed.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment below describes the method of controlling chargingof the battery 105 in the second embodiment using FIG. 4, in addition toFIGS. 1 and 2.

The second embodiment describes an example of a method of controllingcharging of the battery 105 with use of power received from the powersupply device 110 that is USB connected, based on whether or not theoperating mode of the system control unit 208 is the moving imageshooting mode, and on the temperature T of the image capture apparatus100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for the purpose of illustrating the method ofcontrolling charging of the battery 105 in the second embodiment.

Note that process in the flowchart in FIG. 3 is realized by a programstored in the non-volatile memory 207 being read out to the systemmemory 209 and being executed by the system control unit 208. The systemcontrol unit 208 starts the process upon detecting that the power supplydevice 110 is connected to the image capture apparatus 100.

Note that steps S401 to S403, S405, and S407 in FIG. 4 are the sameprocesses as steps S301 to S305 in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, andas such their descriptions are omitted.

In step S404, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not thetemperature detected by the temperature detection unit 213 is greaterthan or equal to a predetermined first temperature. The procedureproceeds to step S405 if the temperature is determined to be greaterthan or equal to the first temperature, or proceeds to step S406 if thetemperature determined to be less than the first temperature.

In step S406, the system control unit 208 controls thecharging/discharging control unit 211 and the power source control unit212 such that the battery 105 is conditionally charged and necessarypower is supplied to components of the image capture apparatus 100 byusing power received from the power supply device 110 (third control).In conditional charging, the system control unit 208 performs controlsuch that charging is maintained while the temperature T detected by thetemperature detection unit 213 is less than the predetermined firsttemperature, and charging is stopped when the temperature T is greaterthan or equal to the predetermined first temperature. Note that chargingmay be performed without supplying power if power received from thepower supply device 110 is insufficient for power supply other thancharging, or if power supply is unnecessary. In this way, in a case ofthe moving image shooting mode, charging of the battery 105 is onlyperformed in a state in which the temperature T of the image captureapparatus 100 is less than a first temperature, the state beingunaffected by heat generated by charging the battery 105. Note that thetemperature-related threshold to is set to a temperature in a suitablemargin (35 degrees Celsius, for example) for reaching the restrictedtemperature of the moving image shooting mode, so that the user does notfeel inconvenienced.

Note that the first temperature in step S404 can be any set according tothe operation restriction temperature, or the like, of the image captureapparatus 100. Also, the condition for maintaining charging of thebattery 105 in step S406 is that the temperature is less than the firsttemperature, but another condition may be used, such as permitting apredetermined duration of charging.

According to the second embodiment, charging of the battery 105, whichuses power received from the USB connected power supply device 110, iscontrolled based on whether or not the operating mode of the systemcontrol unit 208 is the moving image shooting mode, and on thetemperature T of the image capture apparatus 100. Accordingly, heatgenerated by the battery 105 causes the operation restriction to beapplied to the image capture apparatus 100, thus it is possible toeffectively perform charging while also suppressing the moving imagerecording time in the moving image shooting mode from being shortened.

Third Embodiment

The third embodiment below describes the method of controlling chargingof the battery 105 in the third embodiment using FIGS. 5 and 6, inaddition to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The third embodiment describes an example of a method of controllingcharging of the battery 105 with the use of power received from thepower supply device 110 that is USB connected, based on whether or notthe operating mode of the system control unit 208 is the moving imageshooting mode, and on the power supply capability of the power supplydevice 110.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a table 501 that shows an example of therelationship between the types and the power supply capabilities of thepower supply devices 110 in the third embodiment.

The table 501 shown in FIG. 5 shows the power supply capabilities attheir maximum power. In a case where the type of power supply device isdevice A, the power supply capability is 2.5 W (voltage: 5.0 V, current:0.5 A). Also, in a case where the type of power supply device is deviceB or device C, the power supply capabilities are 4.5 W (voltage: 5.0 V,current: 0.9 A) and 7.5 W (voltage: 5.0 V, current: 1.5 A) respectively.Also, in a case where the type of power supply device is device D ordevice E, the power supply capabilities are 15 W (voltage: 5.0 V,current: 3.0 A) and 100 W (voltage: 20 V, current: 5.0 A) respectively.The power supply capabilities of the power supply devices are determinedby the connection destination determining unit 215. Note that, in FIG.5, six types of power supply devices are displayed, but power supplydevices other than these are also possible. Also, the power supplycapability is the maximum power, but this can be defined by the current,or the like.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for illustrating the method of controllingcharging of the battery 105 in the third embodiment.

Note that the process in the flowchart in FIG. 6 is realized by aprogram stored in the non-volatile memory 207 being read out to thesystem memory 209 and being executed by the system control unit 208. Thesystem control unit 208 starts the process upon detecting that the powersupply device 110 is connected to the image capture apparatus 100.

Note that steps S601 to S603 and S609 in FIG. 6 are the same processesas steps S301 to S303 and S305 of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, and assuch their descriptions are omitted.

In step S604, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not thepower supply capability of the power supply device 110 determined by theconnection destination determining unit 215 is greater than or equal toa predetermined first power value. The procedure proceeds to step S605if the power supply capability is determined to be greater than or equalto the predetermined first power value, or proceeds to step S606 if thepower supply capability is determined to be less than the predeterminedfirst power value.

In step S605, the system control unit 208 controls thecharging/discharging control unit 211 and the power source control unit212 such that the battery 105 is charged by using a second power value,which is smaller than the first power value, received from the powersupply device 110 (fourth control). Also, the system control unit 208controls the charging/discharging control unit 211 and the power sourcecontrol unit 212 such that necessary power is supplied to components ofthe image capture apparatus 100 by using power remaining fromsubtracting the second power value from the first power value (fourthcontrol). Note that power supply need not be performed if unnecessary.Note that the second power value is the lowest possible power valuerequired to charge the battery 105. By performing charging with theminimum power required for charging from power received from the powersupply device in this way, the image capture apparatus 100 is less proneto be subject to operation restrictions due to heat generated from thebattery 105, and shortening of the moving image shooting duration in themoving image shooting mode can be suppressed.

In step S606, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not thepower supply capability of the power supply device 110 determined by theconnection destination determining unit 215 is greater than or equal toa predetermined second power value. The procedure proceeds to step S607if the power supply capability is determined to be greater than or equalto the predetermined second power value, or proceeds to step S608 if thepower supply capability is determined to be less than the predeterminedsecond power value.

In step S607, the system control unit 208 controls thecharging/discharging control unit 211 and the power source control unit212 such that the battery 105 is charged by using a second power valueof power received from the power supply device 110 (fifth control).Also, the system control unit 208 controls the charging/dischargingcontrol unit 211 and the power source control unit 212 such that poweris not supplied to components of the image capture apparatus 100,because supplying power to the image capture apparatus 100 cannot beperformed with power that is the result of the second power value beingsubtracted from the received power (fifth control).

In step S608, the system control unit 208 controls thecharging/discharging control unit 211 and the power source control unit212 such that the battery 105 is charged without the charging powerbeing restricted, due to power received from the power supply device 110being less than the second power value (sixth control). Also, the systemcontrol unit 208 controls the charging/discharging control unit 211 andthe power source control unit 212 such that supplying power tocomponents of the image capture apparatus 100 is not performed, becausepower supply to the image capture apparatus 100 cannot be performed withpower that is the result of the second power value being subtracted fromthe received power (sixth control).

Note that the thresholds related to the power supply capability is setto, for example, the first power value=15 W and the second powervalue=4.5 W. Thus, by allowing charging to be performed with minimumpower, it is possible to suppress the battery 105 from generating heat,while also power supply to the image capture apparatus 100 can beperformed using the remaining power.

Note that the threshold values of the power supply capability in stepsS604 and S606 (the first power value and the second power value) can bearbitrarily set according to the charging capability of the battery 105.Also, in steps S605 and S607, charging is performed with the secondpower value, but an arbitrary power value may be used.

According to the third embodiment, charging of the battery 105, with useof the minimum power required of power received from the USB connectedpower supply device 110 is controlled based on whether or not theoperating mode of the system control unit 208 is the moving imageshooting mode, and on the power supply capability of the power supplydevice 110. By allowing the battery 105 to be charged with minimum powerin this way, the image capture apparatus 100 is less prone to be subjectto operation restriction due to heat generated from the battery 105, andit is possible to effectively perform charging while also suppressingthe moving image recording time in the moving image mode shooting frombeing shortened.

Fourth Embodiment

The fourth embodiment below describes the method of controlling chargingof the battery 105 in the fourth embodiment with reference to FIGS. 7Aand 7B, in addition to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The fourth embodiment describes an example of a method of controllingcharging of the battery 105 with use of power received from the powersupply device 110 that is USB connected, based on whether or not theoperating mode of the system control unit 208 is the moving imageshooting mode, and on recording conditions in the moving image recordingprocess.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are flowcharts for the purpose of illustrating themethod of controlling charging of the battery 105 in the fourthembodiment.

Note that the process in the flowchart in FIGS. 7A and 7B is realized bya program stored in the non-volatile memory 207 being read out to thesystem memory 209 and being executed by the system control unit 208. Thesystem control unit 208 starts the process upon detecting that the powersupply device 110 is connected to the image capture apparatus 100.

Note that steps S601 to S603 in FIGS. 6, S706, and S713 in FIGS. 7A and7B are the same processes as steps S301 to S305 in FIG. 3 of the firstembodiment, and as such their descriptions are omitted.

In step S704, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theimage quality (resolution) set by the condition setting unit 216 is setgreater than or equal to a first resolution. The procedure proceeds tostep S705 if it is determined that the control setting unit 216 has setthe image quality (resolution) greater than or equal to the firstresolution, or proceeds to step S707 if it is determined that thecontrol setting unit 216 has set the image quality (resolution) to lessthan the first resolution.

In step S705, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theframe rate set by the condition setting unit 216 is greater than orequal to a first rate. The procedure proceeds to step S706 if it isdetermined that the condition setting unit 216 has set the frame rategreater than or equal to the first rate, or proceeds to step S709 if itis determined that the condition setting unit 216 has set the frame rateless than the first rate.

In step S707, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theimage quality (resolution) set by the condition setting unit 216 isgreater than or equal to a second resolution that is lower than thefirst resolution. The procedure proceeds to step S708 if it isdetermined that the condition setting unit 216 has set the image quality(resolution) to be greater than or equal to the second resolution, andproceeds to step S710 if it is determined that the condition settingunit 216 has set the image quality to less than the second resolution.

In step S708, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theframe rate set by the condition setting unit 216 is greater than orequal to the first rate. The procedure proceeds to step S709 if it isdetermined that the condition setting unit 216 has set the frame rate tobe greater than or equal to the first rate, or proceeds to step S712 ifit is determined that the condition setting unit 216 has set the framerate to less than the first rate.

In step S709, the system control unit 208 uses power received from thepower supply device 110 to charge the battery 105 until a predeterminedfirst duration has elapsed. Also, the charging/discharging control unit211 and the power source control unit 212 are controlled such thatcharging stops after the first duration has elapsed (seventh control).Also, the system control unit 208 controls the charging/dischargingcontrol unit 211 and the power source control unit 212 such thatnecessary power is supplied to components of the image capture apparatus100 by using the remaining power (seventh control). Note that chargingmay be performed without supplying power if power received from thepower supply device 110 is insufficient for power supply other thancharging, or if power supply is unnecessary. In this way, in the case ofthe moving image shooting mode, if the image quality (resolution) isgreater than or equal to the second resolution, in which the heatgenerated by moving image recording process is less than the heatgenerated in the case of the first resolution, then charging with use ofpower received from the power supply device 110 is only performed duringthe predetermined first period.

In step S710, the system control unit 208 determines whether or not theimage quality (resolution) set by the condition setting unit 216 isgreater than or equal to a third resolution which is lower than thesecond resolution. The procedure proceeds to step S711 if it isdetermined that the condition setting unit 216 has set the image quality(resolution) to be greater than or equal to the third resolution, orproceeds to step S713 if it is determined that the condition settingunit 216 has set to the image quality (resolution) to less than thethird resolution. In step S711, the system control unit 208 determineswhether or not the frame rate set by the condition setting unit 216 isgreater than or equal to a first rate. The procedures proceeds to stepS712 if it is determined that the condition setting unit 216 has set theimage quality (resolution)to be greater than or equal to the first rate,or proceeds to step S713 if it is determined that the condition settingunit 216 has set the image quality (resolution) to be less than thefirst rate.

In step S712, the system control unit 208 charges the battery 105 untila predetermined second duration, which is longer than the predeterminedfirst duration, has elapsed using power received from the power supplydevice 110. Also, the charging/discharging control unit 211 and thepower source control unit 212 are controlled such that charging stopsafter the second duration has elapsed (eighth control). Also, the systemcontrol unit 208 controls the charging/discharging control unit 211 andthe power source control unit 212 such that necessary power is suppliedto components of the image capture apparatus 100 by using the remainingpower (eighth control). Note that charging may be performed withoutsupplying power if power received from the power supply device 110 isinsufficient for power supply other than charging, or if power supply isunnecessary. In this way, in the case of the moving image shooting mode,if the image quality (resolution) is greater than or equal to the thirdresolution, in which the heat generated by moving image recordingprocess is less than the heat generated in the case of the secondresolution, then charging with use of power received from the powersupply device 110 is only performed during the predetermined firstperiod.

Note that the threshold values related to image quality (resolution)are, for example, set to a first resolution of 8K (7680×4320), a secondresolution of 4K (3840×2160), and a third resolution of FULL HD(1920×1080). The threshold value related to the frame rate has, forexample, a first rate set to 60 fps.

Note that in FIGS. 7A and 7B, image quality (resolution) and frame rateare illustrated as recording conditions in the moving image recordingprocess, but other setting items may be used. Also, a determination maybe made regarding at least either the image quality or the frame rate.Also, the image quality threshold values (the first resolution, thesecond resolution, and the third resolution) in steps S704, S707 andS710 can be set to any values, and the number of threshold values can bechanged. Also, the frame rate threshold value (the first rate) in stepsS705, S708 and S711 can be set to any values and the number of thresholdvalues can be changed. The charge durations (the first duration and thesecond duration) in steps S709 and S712 can be set to any values. Also,a condition other than time, such as temperature, may be used.

According to the fourth embodiment, charging of the battery 105, whichuses power received from the USB connected power supply device 110, iscontrolled depending on whether or not the operating mode of the systemcontrol unit 208 is the moving image shooting mode, and also dependingon recording conditions in the moving image recoding process. In thisway, by allowing charging of the battery 105 only during periods inwhich heat generated by the processor that executes moving imagerecording process, or the like, the image capture apparatus 100 is lessprone to being subject to operation restrictions from heat generated bythe battery 105, or other heat. Accordingly, it is possible toeffectively perform charging while also suppressing the moving imagerecording time in the moving image shooting mode from being shortened.

Note that embodiments of the disclosure are not limited to the first tofourth embodiments described above. Changes or revisions made to thefirst to fourth embodiments within a scope that does not deviate fromthe subject-matter of the disclosure are included in embodiments of thedisclosure.

The first to fourth embodiments above describe a method of controllingcharging of the battery 105 based on whether or not the operating modeof the system control unit 208 is the moving image shooting mode, butthe first to fourth embodiments are not limited to this. For example,the first to fourth embodiments can be applied to a variety of operatingmodes, such as an operating mode that is subject to operationalrestriction according to rising temperature other than the moving imageshooting mode, or an operating mode in which the computation processingload on the processor is high. Also, the second to fourth embodimentsabove describe methods of controlling charging of the battery, based ontemperature, power supply capability, and recording conditions in themoving image recording process, in addition to whether or not the systemcontrol unit 208 is in the moving image shooting mode, but may be acombination of at least two of these conditions.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the disclosure can also be realized by a computer of asystem or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executableinstructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium(which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one ormore of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one ormore circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) forperforming the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the systemor apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computerexecutable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functionsof one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controllingthe one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of theabove-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or moreprocessors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit(MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separateprocessors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions.The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer,for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage mediummay include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-accessmemory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributedcomputing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digitalversatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, amemory card, or the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2017-215020, filed Nov. 7, 2017, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image capture apparatus capable of charging abattery, comprising: a connection unit that receives power from a powersupply device; a charging control unit that charges the battery by usingpower received from the power supply device; a power supply control unitthat supplies power to components of the image capture apparatus byusing power received from the power supply device; and a control unitthat controls charging of the battery and power supply to the componentsof the image capture apparatus by using power received from the powersupply device, according to whether or not an operating mode of theimage capture apparatus is restricted due to heat from the battery. 2.The image capture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a casewhere the operating mode of the image capture apparatus is a movingimage shooting mode, the control unit performs first control such thatcharging of the battery is not performed and the power supply to theimage capture apparatus is performed with use of power received from thepower supply device, and in a case where the operating mode of the imagecapture apparatus is not the moving image shooting mode, the controlunit performs second control such that charging of the battery and thepower supply to the image capture apparatus are performed with use ofpower received from the power supply device.
 3. The image captureapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperaturedetection unit that detects a temperature inside the image captureapparatus, wherein, in a case where the operating mode of the imagecapture apparatus is a moving image shooting mode, the control unitcontrols charging of the battery and the power supply to the imagecapture apparatus with use of power received from the power supplydevice based on the temperature detected by the temperature detectionunit.
 4. The image capture apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in acase where the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit isgreater than or equal to a first temperature when the operating mode ofthe image capture apparatus is the moving image shooting mode, thecontrol unit performs first control such that charging of the battery isnot performed and the power supply to the image capture apparatus isperformed with use of power received from the power supply device, andin a case where the temperature detected by the temperature detectionunit is less than the first temperature when the operating mode of theimage capture apparatus is the moving image shooting mode, the controlunit performs second control such that charging of the battery with useof power received from the power supply device is performed under acondition of being less than the first temperature, and the power supplyto the image capture apparatus is performed with use of power receivedfrom the power supply device.
 5. The image capture apparatus accordingto claim 1, further comprising a connection destination determining unitthat determines a power supply capability of the power supply devicethat is connected to the image capture apparatus wherein, in a casewhere the operating mode of the image capture apparatus is a movingimage shooting mode, the control unit controls charging of the batteryand the power supply to the image capture apparatus with use of powerreceived from the power supply device based on the power supplycapability of the power supply device determined by the connectiondestination determining unit.
 6. The image capture apparatus accordingto claim 5, wherein, in a case where the power supply capability of thepower supply device determined by the connection destination determiningunit is greater than or equal to a first power value when the operatingmode of the image capture apparatus is the moving image shooting mode,the control unit performs fourth control such that charging of thebattery is performed with use of a second power value that is smallerthan the first power value of power received from the power supplydevice, and the power supply to the image capture apparatus is performedusing the remaining power, in a case where the power supply capabilityof the power supply device determined by the connection destinationdetermining unit is greater than or equal to the second power value whenthe operating mode of the image capture apparatus is the moving imageshooting mode, the control unit performs fifth control such thatcharging of the battery is performed with use of the second power valueof power received from the power supply device, and the power supply tothe image capture apparatus is not performed, and in a case where thepower supply capability of the power supply device determined by theconnection destination determining unit is less than the second powervalue when the operating mode of the image capture apparatus is themoving image shooting mode, the control unit performs sixth control suchthat charging of the battery is performed with use of power receivedfrom the power supply device, and the power supply to the image captureapparatus is not performed.
 7. The image capture apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a setting unit that sets a condition forwhen a shot moving image is to be recorded, wherein, in a case where theoperating mode of the image capture apparatus is a moving image shootingmode, the control unit controls charging of the battery and the powersupply to the image capture apparatus with use of power received fromthe power supply device based on the condition set by the setting unit.8. The image capture apparatus according to claim 7, wherein thecondition is a resolution of a moving image that is to be recorded, andwherein, in a case where the resolution set by the setting unit isgreater than or equal to a first resolution when the operating mode ofthe image capture apparatus is the moving image shooting mode, thecontrol unit performs first control such that charging of the battery isnot performed and the power supply to the image capture apparatus isperformed with use of power received from the power supply device, in acase where the resolution set by the setting unit is greater than orequal to a second resolution that is smaller than the first resolutionwhen the operating mode of the image capture apparatus is the movingimage shooting mode, the control unit performs seventh control such thatcharging of the battery is performed until a first duration has elapsed,and the power supply to the image capture apparatus is performed withuse of power received from the power supply device, in a case where theresolution set by the setting unit is greater than or equal to a thirdresolution that is smaller than the second resolution when the operatingmode of the image capture apparatus is the moving image shooting mode,the control unit performs eighth control such that charging of thebattery is performed until a second duration that is longer than thefirst duration elapses, and the power supply to the image captureapparatus is performed with use of power received from the power supplydevice, and in a case where the resolution set by the setting unit isless than the third resolution when the operating mode of the imagecapture apparatus is the moving image shooting mode, the control unitperforms second control such that charging of the battery and the powersupply to the image capture apparatus are performed with use of powerreceived from the power supply device.
 9. The image capture apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein the condition includes a frame rate of amoving image that is to be recorded, and wherein, in a case where theresolution set by the setting unit is greater than or equal to the firstresolution and the frame rate is greater than or equal to a first rate,the control unit performs the first control, and in a case where theresolution set by the setting unit is greater than or equal to thesecond resolution and the frame rate is greater than or equal to thefirst rate, or in a case where even if the resolution set by the settingunit is greater than or equal to the first resolution, the frame rate isless than the first rate, the control unit performs the seventh control,in a case where even if the resolution set by the setting unit isgreater than or equal to the second resolution, if the frame rate isless than the first rate, the control unit performs the eighth control,in a case where the resolution set by the setting unit is greater thanor equal to the third resolution, and the frame rate is greater than orequal to the first rate, the control unit performs the eighth control,and in a case where even if the resolution set by the setting unit isgreater than or equal to the third resolution, if the frame rate is lessthan the first rate, the control unit performs the second control.
 10. Amethod of controlling an image capture apparatus capable of charging abattery, the method comprising: receiving power from a power supplydevice; and controlling charging of a battery and power supply tocomponents of the image capture apparatus by using power received fromthe power supply device, according to whether or not an operating modeof the image capture apparatus is restricted due to heat from thebattery.
 11. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a programcausing a computer to a method of controlling an image capture apparatuscapable of charging of a battery, the method comprising: receiving powerfrom a power supply device; and controlling charging of a battery andpower supply to components of the image capture apparatus by using powerreceived from the power supply device, according to whether or not anoperating mode of the image capture apparatus is restricted due to heatfrom the battery.